Julia Turshen riffs on chocolate cake, making it healthier by replacing white flour with almond meal, and swapping out white sugar for coconut sugar. When she’s making the cake for her diabetic wife, Grace, she only uses 1/4 cup of sweetener, but for a more traditionally sweet cake, 1 cup is just right. Slideshow: More Loaf Cake Recipes
How to Make It
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with baking spray and line it with parchment paper, allowing 2 inches of overhang on the short sides.
In a medium bowl, whisk the almond meal with the cocoa powder, baking powder, salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the cinnamon. In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the coconut sugar, melted butter, coffee and vanilla. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until the batter is smooth.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the egg whites at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes. Fold one-third of the beaten egg whites into the batter to lighten it, then fold in the remaining egg whites until no streaks remain.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached. Transfer to a rack to cool for 20 minutes, then unmold and let cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat the heavy cream with the remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon until soft peaks form. Cut the cake into slices and serve with a dollop of the cinnamon cream.